Game #2 - FCS fool's gold

[FirstDownB]

So here we are, the time of the season where you rack up some OOC wins and build confidence. That's important.

But there's a flip side. Things that happen against Indiana St or Florida Atlantic that won't hold up against legit FBS athletes. It can be like training a bad habit (for the fans anyway).
My question is who or what is going to stand out against ISU that won't hold up during Big Ten play?

See UConn game last year:
-Respectable rushing attack= 187 yds on 4.5 ypc
-Jack Plummer is the real deal= 4 TD and 0 INT
-Sully's got pass rush game = 2 QB hurries

And all of that disappeared the very next game against ND

My guesses:
Running game will get going again and people will remark about the improved speed of the RB position.
One of the LEOs, I'll say Jenkins, will have a career day.
Piferi will make a couple plays and look like a serviceable TE.

This needs to be a drinking game.

 

[ImRonBurgandy?]

Yeah not excited about this one at all. Boilers need to ensure this game is over at half and come out injury free.

 

[arcb102000]

It makes little to no sense to me to play a game like this. It does:

1. provide a meaningless win. If the NCAA had courage, this type of game would not count toward bowl eligibility.

2. It is not attractive to tv audiences because it has no/very, very small risk of loss by the home team. There is no drama associated with the competition.

3. It is unfair to the ticket holders as they pay a lot of money for an uninteresting experience. There will be many more empty seats than there were last week against PSU.

The B1G just negotiated a huge media rights contract paying billions. Networks are not going to want these kinds of contests for the bucks that they are paying. They need large audiences in order to recoup the payouts and make some money for themselves.

 

[KentuckyBoiler]

Did Nic Caraway play last week or is he currently injured?

I didn't notice any stats for him, but I was not able to watch the whole game. I know he had a great preseason camp.

 

[indyogb]

It makes little to no sense to me to play a game like this. It does:

1. provide a meaningless win. If the NCAA had courage, this type of game would not count toward bowl eligibility.

2. It is not attractive to tv audiences because it has no/very, very small risk of loss by the home team. There is no drama associated with the competition.

3. It is unfair to the ticket holders as they pay a lot of money for an uninteresting experience. There will be many more empty seats than there were last week against PSU.

The B1G just negotiated a huge media rights contract paying billions. Networks are not going to want these kinds of contests for the bucks that they are paying. They need large audiences in order to recoup the payouts and make some money for themselves.

I'm not exactly thrilled at the prospect of this "nothing to gain, everything to lose" matchup either. However, there would never be a Boise State or Appalachian State (or a Gonzaga in basketball) if the "big boys" did not occasionally give the little guys a chance (slim though it might be). From a Purdue perspective, yes, this game offers little other than a confidence builder (or destroyer should catastrophe strike).

 

[nat100]

Did Nic Caraway play last week or is he currently injured?

I didn't notice any stats for him, but I was not able to watch the whole game. I know he had a great preseason camp.

He played 5 snaps on defense. Id expect him to play more this week.

 

[PaBoiler78]

Yeah not excited about this one at all. Boilers need to ensure this game is over at half and come out out injury free.

like to see Alaimo in the 2nd half.

 

[FirstDownB]

He played 5 snaps on defense. Id expect him to play more this week.

He needs to be in there for Sullivan on 3rd and longs

 

[DAG10]

He played 5 snaps on defense. Id expect him to play more this week.

I expected him to play more last week...he certainly seemed to hold up on the very few snaps that he had.

Given the hype coming in...it was odd seemingly that he only got 5 snaps.

Tracy was supposed to be some sort of game-changer offensively, and, the only impact he had unfortunately was a very negative one.

Hard to understand what all was said and written coming into the game to not see either make any real contribution.

 

[DAG10]

So here we are, the time of the season where you rack up some OOC wins and build confidence. That's important.

But there's a flip side. Things that happen against Indiana St or Florida Atlantic that won't hold up against legit FBS athletes. It can be like training a bad habit (for the fans anyway).
My question is who or what is going to stand out against ISU that won't hold up during Big Ten play?

See UConn game last year:
-Respectable rushing attack= 187 yds on 4.5 ypc
-Jack Plummer is the real deal= 4 TD and 0 INT
-Sully's got pass rush game = 2 QB hurries

And all of that disappeared the very next game against ND

My guesses:
Running game will get going again and people will remark about the improved speed of the RB position.
One of the LEOs, I'll say Jenkins, will have a career day.
Piferi will make a couple plays and look like a serviceable TE.

This needs to be a drinking game.

Agree...and, just makes the blown opportunity from last week more disappointing.

Running effectively this week (should it happen) does not make up for not doing it when it mattered to win the game last week.

Generating a pass rush this week against a lesser opponent does not make up for not doing it at all last week.

There is a glaring hole at the TE position absent Miller...nothing that happens this week will change that.

This game, at best, does little more than what UConn did a year ago and as you suggest...builds some confidence...maybe even unfortunately some false confidence.

 

[nat100]

He needs to be in there for Sullivan on 3rd and longs

They had humpich and jenkins doing that. Moved Sullivan to DT on obvious passing downs.

 

[ImRonBurgandy?]

one of the GB videos or articles this past week addressed Caraway. Said something to the effect of not overwhelming him too early against stiff competition. I expect him to play a lot more against ISU.

 

[arcb102000]

I'm not exactly thrilled at the prospect of this "nothing to gain, everything to lose" matchup either. However, there would never be a Boise State or Appalachian State (or a Gonzaga in basketball) if the "big boys" did not occasionally give the little guys a chance (slim though it might be). From a Purdue perspective, yes, this game offers little other than a confidence builder (or destroyer should catastrophe strike).

Boise State (in FB) and Gonzaga (in BB) are in conferences that are eligible, and were so, for the bowls and tournaments in their respective sports. It was their on-field/court success that allowed them to gain the notoriety that they achieved. But a lot of that was achieved past their regular seasons. In the case of App State, they became well known as an FCS school that beat Michigan. But a number of prominent FCS schools have now moved up to FBS level. Given their FCS success, they would likely have moved up later than they did but would have moved nonetheless.

I just think that these are games that need to go away and the tv market is likely to make that happen.

 

[BCfanatic2020]

These games are invaluable for young players to go through reps and gain confidence without running the risk of being exposed against big ten competition. If you can get Brady Allen 5 passes in this game it’s a huge win.

also, many Purdue fans, including in this thread, don’t understand that if you win 10 games and you play ISU, a lower level p5 team and a g5 team, nobody cares. It always cracks me up when people want this extra credit scheduling. When PJ fleck had that great season and Minnesota played against a bunch of crap in the preseason it was never brought up.

 

[FirstDownB]

These games are invaluable for young players to go through reps and gain confidence without running the risk of being exposed against big ten competition. If you can get Brady Allen 5 passes in this game it’s a huge win.

also, many Purdue fans, including in this thread, don’t understand that if you win 10 games and you play ISU, a lower level p5 team and a g5 team, nobody cares. It always cracks me up when people want this extra credit scheduling. When PJ fleck had that great season and Minnesota played against a bunch of crap in the preseason it was never brought up.

We got away from the OP a bit. Got any predictions for false positives on Saturday?

If Brady gets in and completes 4 of those 5 passes and Aidan goes down later in the season, are you touting our freshman 3rd string QB and his 80% completion rate?

 

[BCfanatic2020]

We got away from the OP a bit. Got any predictions for false positives on Saturday?

If Brady gets in and completes 4 of those 5 passes and Aidan goes down later in the season, are you touting our freshman 3rd string QB and his 80% completion rate?

Well I was replying to those who don’t see the usefulness of the game.

no. The actual stats are immaterial. Drew Brees threw 43 passes as a freshman and completed 19. I’d argue that those reps mattered. I don’t think people realize how important it is that we turn to alaimo or Allen next year instead of handing the reigns over to a Tommy Devito while Allen stands there and we blow half a season.

 

[Woodsa]

I expect to overpower ISUat most positions. But, that does not mean this game is not valuable. It allows coaches a chance to coach both the tangible an intangibles. A chance to focus and hone techniques, positioning, and communication. What I hope leads to a game over by the first half but builds confidence of the starters in the system and coaches. In return, we get to see some kids that don't normally get to play, which enhances depth at key positions.

I know fans and TV like the PSU match up but we are not there to go up against that caliber of team for OOC games and win consistently. Yet.

 

[TheGunner]

This game SHOULD provide a lot of playing time for the 2nd and 3rd strings. It helps determine who should come off the bench and how much time they should get.

Reps for people like Pferi, Burton, Alaimo, B Allen, K Lewis, and the same on defense.

 

[KentuckyBoiler]

like to see Alaimo in the 2nd half.

I am hoping to see Allen

 

[BoilerBiker]

hopefully we have a more comfortable halftime lead
than 26-21 like in 2006 vs indiana st.

 

[tenwest]

I am hoping to see Allen

Can he play 4 games and still redshirt?
Is that still the rule?

 

[FirstDownB]

This game SHOULD provide a lot of playing time for the 2nd and 3rd strings. It helps determine who should come off the bench and how much time they should get.

Reps for people like Pferi, Burton, Alaimo, B Allen, K Lewis, and the same on defense.

Reps are good. Building confidence is good.
What is going to be on display against Indiana St that should weigh more heavily with coaches making depth chart decisions than what they have seen in practice for weeks going up against fellow FBS athletes? If Burton goes 2/4/22/0/0 and Alaimo goes 3/5/40/1/0 does that impact who is your QB2?

 

[TheGunner]

Reps are good. Building confidence is good.
What is going to be on display against Indiana St that should weigh more heavily with coaches making depth chart decisions than what they have seen in practice for weeks going up against fellow FBS athletes? If Burton goes 2/4/22/0/0 and Alaimo goes 3/5/40/1/0 does that impact who is your QB2?

IMO, Burton and Alaimo should have more than a handful of pass attempts. If AOC is in the game at the 7 min mark of the 2nd Qtr, that’s bad. So my post was about seeing the QBs with more than 5 pass attempts. (We don’t have the RB stable to hand the ball off 75-80% of the time…and our backup QBs need work)

 

[ImRonBurgandy?]

I would expect Aiden to play the first 2 quarters at least.

 

[rgarlitz]

It makes little to no sense to me to play a game like this. It does:

1. provide a meaningless win. If the NCAA had courage, this type of game would not count toward bowl eligibility.

2. It is not attractive to tv audiences because it has no/very, very small risk of loss by the home team. There is no drama associated with the competition.

3. It is unfair to the ticket holders as they pay a lot of money for an uninteresting experience. There will be many more empty seats than there were last week against PSU.

The B1G just negotiated a huge media rights contract paying billions. Networks are not going to want these kinds of contests for the bucks that they are paying. They need large audiences in order to recoup the payouts and make some money for themselves.

I see your point, but I can't gripe too much about it (not being a season ticket holder). This is Purdue's first FCS opponent in six years--none were scheduled for 2020. Purdue has faced a P5 opponent in 2/3 of its non-conference games every year under Brohm. I think the schedule has been respectable enough.

I just don't want to see a repeat of the Haze performance when Purdue needed a trick play on a kickoff return to beat Indiana State. This year Purdue can and should win handily.

 

[boilermaker75]

Reps are good. Building confidence is good.
What is going to be on display against Indiana St that should weigh more heavily with coaches making depth chart decisions than what they have seen in practice for weeks going up against fellow FBS athletes? If Burton goes 2/4/22/0/0 and Alaimo goes 3/5/40/1/0 does that impact who is your QB2?

Aren't practices highly structured compared to what is encountered in a game?

 

[pboiler18]

My thoughts....go vanilla and opposite tendencies. If we can run decently vs. PSU we should do better and much much better vs ISU. Try to do a few things. Sustain some drives with runs. Take big and basic shots downfield to end drives when you're ready. Then, with about 2 quarters or 20 mins left, give the backups free reign.

It sucks but you really want to give your #2 guy the majority of the reps in that second half and if you slight a guy and don't play him it sends a message and there are going to be bad feelings for sure. Complicated for us when we have 3 guys who are deserving or in position at QB to get reps.

 

[FirstDownB]

IMO, Burton and Alaimo should have more than a handful of pass attempts. If AOC is in the game at the 7 min mark of the 2nd Qtr, that’s bad. So my post was about seeing the QBs with more than 5 pass attempts. (We don’t have the RB stable to hand the ball off 75-80% of the time…and our backup QBs need work)

Don’t hold your breath on seeing anyone behind center other than #16 until the second half. I’ll go back to the UConn game. Plummer played the entire first half with Purdue building a 35-0 lead. And that was with he and Aidan in a QB competition. Aidan came in Q3 and had similar success, and then Burton came in with the bench mob, went 5/5 passing, and never completed another pass all season. Meanwhile we ran the ball 42 times because that was an opponent we actually could ball control with a lead and, much like this year, the run game needed reps. There just isn’t much to be extrapolated.

 

[krf3632]

My thoughts....go vanilla and opposite tendencies. If we can run decently vs. PSU we should do better and much much better vs ISU. Try to do a few things. Sustain some drives with runs. Take big and basic shots downfield to end drives when you're ready. Then, with about 2 quarters or 20 mins left, give the backups free reign.

It sucks but you really want to give your #2 guy the majority of the reps in that second half and if you slight a guy and don't play him it sends a message and there are going to be bad feelings for sure. Complicated for us when we have 3 guys who are deserving or in position at QB to get reps.

My Thought: With all the receivers Purdue has this is the time to use them so they stay engaged. Plus Purdue lost their starting RB in the UCONN game, and that was an issue until he returned. Do not want a replay of that.
Having said that I believe they probably will do it your way just for the sake of shortening the game, and work on their run blocking.

 

[Purdue 95]

It makes little to no sense to me to play a game like this. It does:

1. provide a meaningless win. If the NCAA had courage, this type of game would not count toward bowl eligibility.

2. It is not attractive to tv audiences because it has no/very, very small risk of loss by the home team. There is no drama associated with the competition.

3. It is unfair to the ticket holders as they pay a lot of money for an uninteresting experience. There will be many more empty seats than there were last week against PSU.

The B1G just negotiated a huge media rights contract paying billions. Networks are not going to want these kinds of contests for the bucks that they are paying. They need large audiences in order to recoup the payouts and make some money for themselves.

1. No win is meaningless. They all count.
2. Look at the B1G slate of games this week and tell me which one you think is really compelling. Hands down, the best game of the week is Iowa-Iowa State. The same Iowa that scored seven points via two safeties and a field goal against South Dakota State. Sounds awesome. Bama played Utah State last week. Mighty Louisiana-Monroe visits Tuscaloosa next week. Literally everybody schedules like this. The fact that we typically schedule another P5 game puts us ahead of many others in the scheduling department.
3. The schedule was out for a long, long time before season tickets went on sale. It's not like people blindly bought tickets and just hoped every home game would be interesting. Is playing Indiana State really a detriment to season ticket sales? The numbers don't back up that claim; ticket sales are up this year. Look over the rest of the B1G teams and tell me whose schedule you're envious of.

 

[DAG10]

hopefully we have a more comfortable halftime lead
than 26-21 like in 2006 vs indiana st.

I remember walking out after the game in '13 (that Purdue barely held on to win 20-14...outscored 14-10 after halftime, and, had it not been for a 99-yard return to open the game by Akeen Hunt, they may have lost). It was Hazell's first home game as HC, and my two children that had gone with me were complaining loudly about how bad Purdue was...and, my telling them to knock it off...for the following reasons:

-It was a beautiful day, and, we got to spend it together and with their grandpa, so, appreciate that.
-I had been going to games at that point for 30 years, and, had seen WAY more Purdue losses than wins, so, appreciate that they at least managed to win.
-It might be the only win that they got that year based on what we had seen! (And, that unfortunately turned out to be the case ultimately).

 

[arcb102000]

1. No win is meaningless. They all count.
2. Look at the B1G slate of games this week and tell me which one you think is really compelling. Hands down, the best game of the week is Iowa-Iowa State. The same Iowa that scored seven points via two safeties and a field goal against South Dakota State. Sounds awesome. Bama played Utah State last week. Mighty Louisiana-Monroe visits Tuscaloosa next week. Literally everybody schedules like this. The fact that we typically schedule another P5 game puts us ahead of many others in the scheduling department.
3. The schedule was out for a long, long time before season tickets went on sale. It's not like people blindly bought tickets and just hoped every home game would be interesting. Is playing Indiana State really a detriment to season ticket sales? The numbers don't back up that claim; ticket sales are up this year. Look over the rest of the B1G teams and tell me whose schedule you're envious of.

I do not dispute that the game does not count. My point is that it should not count. It is "meaningless" in the sense that it is not a "real" competition. While an upset can theoretically occur, it primarily resides in the zip code of probability being less than 0.01%.

There is also no discussion that Purdue is far, far from the only team to play this kind of game. The SEC teams are famous for playing them. But that does not make them a good or even acceptable idea. They are uninteresting and tv scheduling reflects that.

As to the season ticket plans, you buy the season ticket in order to get good seating for the "real" games. It is simply an extra fee that is included in the plan. Think of it this way: if you could purchase a season ticket that did not include this game but with this game being an extra add-on as a discretionary purchase, what percentage of season ticket holders would opt to make the discretionary purchase? I will assert that it would be a very small percentage. Do you really think that I am wrong?

 

[Purdue 95]

I do not dispute that the game does not count. My point is that it should not count. It is "meaningless" in the sense that it is not a "real" competition. While an upset can theoretically occur, it primarily resides in the zip code of probability being less than 0.01%.

There is also no discussion that Purdue is far, far from the only team to play this kind of game. The SEC teams are famous for playing them. But that does not make them a good or even acceptable idea. They are uninteresting and tv scheduling reflects that.

As to the season ticket plans, you buy the season ticket in order to get good seating for the "real" games. It is simply an extra fee that is included in the plan. Think of it this way: if you could purchase a season ticket that did not include this game but with this game being an extra add-on as a discretionary purchase, what percentage of season ticket holders would opt to make the discretionary purchase? I will assert that it would be a very small percentage. Do you really think that I am wrong?

No idea what others would do, but I'm a Purdue fan. I go to the games to see Purdue play. There are only six home games per year; sometimes seven. To me, those six Saturdays are like Christmas. I'm going to meet up with my buddies, we're going to have a kickass tailgate with great food and cold beer, laugh our asses off, then go cheer for the Boilermakers. I'll enjoy this Saturday no less than I enjoyed last Thursday. I'm sorry it's not that way for you. You're missing out.

 

[arcb102000]

Like you, I am a serious Purdue fan. But I enjoy a competitive game much more than a blowout.

I do wish you a good time tomorrow.

 

[TheGunner]

Don’t hold your breath on seeing anyone behind center other than #16 until the second half. I’ll go back to the UConn game. Plummer played the entire first half with Purdue building a 35-0 lead. And that was with he and Aidan in a QB competition. Aidan came in Q3 and had similar success, and then Burton came in with the bench mob, went 5/5 passing, and never completed another pass all season. Meanwhile we ran the ball 42 times because that was an opponent we actually could ball control with a lead and, much like this year, the run game needed reps. There just isn’t much to be extrapolated.

I don’t disagree…but I also recall Horvath getting hurt against UConn. I would like to think that we worry more about keeping starters healthy, especially our starting QB, once the game starts to get “out of hand” (RE Plummers time…last year we had a “QB competition” at some level and really don’t have that in 2022).

You may be right, and AOC probably needs some reps…but if it were me, I would get AOC attempts in the 1st and 2nd Qtrs, and get him to the locker room.

 

[Hausta01]

I don’t disagree…but I also recall Horvath getting hurt against UConn. I would like to think that we worry more about keeping starters healthy, especially our starting QB, once the game starts to get “out of hand” (RE Plummers time…last year we had a “QB competition” at some level and really don’t have that in 2022).

You may be right, and AOC probably needs some reps…but if it were me, I would get AOC attempts in the 1st and 2nd Qtrs, and get him to the locker room.

That's pretty much what happened against UCONN, believe we saw 4 QBs? Maybe only 3. But Alaimo played a pretty good chunk of the 4th quarter.

 

[goboilers2]

It makes little to no sense to me to play a game like this. It does:

1. provide a meaningless win. If the NCAA had courage, this type of game would not count toward bowl eligibility.

2. It is not attractive to tv audiences because it has no/very, very small risk of loss by the home team. There is no drama associated with the competition.

3. It is unfair to the ticket holders as they pay a lot of money for an uninteresting experience. There will be many more empty seats than there were last week against PSU.

The B1G just negotiated a huge media rights contract paying billions. Networks are not going to want these kinds of contests for the bucks that they are paying. They need large audiences in order to recoup the payouts and make some money for themselves.

In regards to #1, should we choke and go 6 wins, with one being FCS, should we go to a crappy bowl, or stay home? I say stay home.

I do not like seeing these on the schedule. Florida teams do it all the time to pad the records and jump in rankings, with Miami blowing out BC last week.

The NCAA should show courage here and require 7 wins if a FCS is on the schedule.